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Bangladesh's national carrier Biman sent out its last flight to New York Saturday, suspending further flying on a route that was leading to mounting losses. To minimise its losses worth about Taka 5.5 million (about $72,500) on the New York flight, Biman has asked the ministry of civil aviation and tourism to also suspend flights on the Dhaka-Paris, Dhaka-Frankfurt and Dhaka-Yangon routes from October this year, New Age said quoting a Biman official. Biman has already stopped advance ticket booking for these destinations. With Biman closing down more flights on international routes, ticket sales have fallen drastically from Taka 300 million in May to Taka 160 million in June this year. The suspension was indefinite despite growing demand from Bangladeshis working in North America, Bangladesh Observer newspaper said. Biman launched its direct Dhaka-New York service in 1993 with two flights a week. Later, the flight frequency was reduced to one, as the venture was found to be incurring losses. The carrier also faced a warning on security grounds from the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) of the US for operating 30-year-old DC-10 aircrafts on the route. FAA considers the aircraft "not well-equipped for flying over the Atlantic". Like most third-world airlines, Biman is hit by rising fuel costs that has affected its long-term modernisation plans. At present, Biman fleet comprises of five DC-10s, four airbuses and four F-28s on 26 international and seven domestic destinations.
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